this plan has been offered by both republicans and democrats, including president obama and speaker boehner. all i've done is pull them together to offer them has a compassionate alternative to what happens if we go over the fiscal cliff. true, from the very beginning i have favored a comprehensive solution to put our fiscal house in orderings something along the lines of the simpson-bowles. we don't have that luxury right now. but perhaps it will only soften the blow of the fiscal cliff but also give us a sense of urgency about a grand bargain to repair our financial house. i am not so naive as to believe everybody is going to check their politics at the door, even at this late hour, but this is not a time for politicking, bickering or partisan games. to allow the country to plunge over the fiscal cliff without any alternative plans to soften the landing is completely unacceptable. i can't think of anything more irresponsible than to let this great country go over the fiscal cliff, to play games with the lives of americans in such a callous way, to jeopardize the financial standing of our